You Are My Light
by Yuri-hime
Summary: A perfect stranger. A less than perfect meeting. Where will the road take two souls who never bargained on taking that first step...together. Alice/Claire AU


**Disclaimer** - I do not own the _Resident Evil_ series. It is owned by **Capcom**.

**Author's Note** - So, I fell in love with the Alice/Claire pairing. And as most often happens when I fall for a pairing...I create stories for them! =D

This story is **AU**, and while I know there is debate about our fave charry's eye colours, in this tale I have Alice with brilliant-blue eyes, and Claire with bright green eyes. Just love the idea of Claire with green eyes to go with all that lovely red hair, and Alice with blue eyes you could get lost in for hours~

So, on with the story! Hope you all enjoy~ =D

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**~You Are My Light~**

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A dark stranger rode slowly into town on her chrome and black motorcycle. Dark shades hid her eyes, as well as dark clothing that covered her body. She revved the bike's engine once, as she slowed to a stop at a stop light located in a small town she was riding through. The thought occurred to the stranger to try to find a decent motel to stay for the night, as it was a long ride to the next town and she didn't relish the idea of having to sleep out on the road.

The light switched from red to green, and the dark rider revved her engine once again, then rode forward through the green light. However, the bike never made it beyond a few feet before a loud, pained cry rang out and a quick flash of white fabric flew by. A sudden _thump_ and a squeal of tires later Alice Abernathy sat breathing heavily on her bike, as she looked down to see a young girl laying on the side of the road; a skateboard now crushed from the weight of her bike's tire, laying near the motionless girl.

"Oh shit," Alice cursed as she threw off her helmet, jumped off the bike, and ran over to the prone girl.

_What have I done..._

~o~o~o~

"K-Mart! K-Mart!" a panicked, female voice rang through the white-walled halls of the town's small hospital, as a beautiful red-haired young woman rushed towards the nurse's desk in panic.

"My sister! My sister, K-Mart! I got a call that she was involved in an accident! Where is she? Is she alright!" Claire Redfield cried frantically to the nurse, who quietly asked for some ID for Claire to prove she was truly the sister of the young, teenaged girl brought in.

Alice let out a deep sigh from her place sitting on a hard, plastic chair near the nurse's desk. She ran a weary hand through her shaggy, sandy-blond hair and slowly rose to her feet to quietly approach the frantic woman.

"Excuse me...I think I should let you know...that I'm the one who accidentally hit your sister. She came out of literally nowhere on her skateboard _after_ the light turned green, and my bike accidentally knocked her off her board when she clipped the side of my bike," Alice said in a soft voice filled with regret.

Claire whirled around and fixed blazing-green eyes on this stranger who had just walked up to her, and admitted to running over her sister. Well...not technically 'running her over'. K-Mart had essentially jumped her board into the middle of the road, trying to perfect some new trick or other, despite the many times Claire had told her to _stop_ doing reckless, dangerous stunts like that. Claire knew that this stranger wasn't truly at fault, but that didn't stop Claire from turning furious green eyes onto the woman before her...and almost losing her breath when she truly _looked_ at the woman.

Smokey-blue eyes, full pouty lips, a figure to kill for even if most of it was hidden behind a dark jacket, dark vest and dark pants. The stranger's eyes were also filled with remorse, and the full dress-down curse-out that Claire had been prepared to give died on her lips. Instead a weary sigh slipped out, and she averted her eyes quickly to the side, then softly muttered under her breath.

"It's okay...I know you didn't intend to hit my sister. I've told her more times than I care to count to _not_ pull crazy stunts like this so close to the road, for fear of something _exactly_ like this happening. But I'm sorry I can't stay and talk with you further. I need to see my sister," Claire said as she allowed her eyes to track back to the stranger's face, and saw the blue-eyed woman nod her head.

"It's perfectly alright, and completely understandable. I'm sorry for having kept you from your sister's side. Please...tell her that I'm sorry for what happened today. I truly never meant to cause her...or you...any pain," Alice softly breathed out, as she allowed herself another brief moment to drink in the stunning beauty before her. Her fiery-red hair and deep sea-green eyes reminded Alice of Sirens; witches of the sea who lured unwitting sailors to their doom. Alice felt like she herself had been placed under a spell, as the beautiful siren before her turned her back, and followed the nurse to the room the woman's sister was resting in.

Alice stood for a few more seconds in the waiting room, watching until the red-head vanished behind a set of swinging doors, before she gently shook herself, and then turned to make her way back to the uncomfortable hospital chair.

_There was no way she was going to leave before she found out the condition of the young girl she had unintentionally hit._

~o~o~o~

Claire let out a soft, tired sigh as she re-entered the waiting room after visiting with her sister for the last two hours. K-Mart was going to be okay. She had been damn lucky, and had only been clipped by the motorcycle ridden by the sandy-haired stranger. She had managed to sprain her ankle though, and would have to use crutches for roughly three weeks. The doctor who had seen K-Mart wanted her to stay overnight for observation, and Claire had readily agreed.

_Maybe I can actually get her to **stay** in the house after she heals, and not continue running wildly about town after this incident,_ Claire thought darkly to herself, as she walked through the waiting room towards the hospital exit, and contemplated how much worse her sister's injuries could have been.

Claire let out another tired sigh just as she was about to push open the hospital doors, when something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye, and she froze when she saw the sandy-haired biker still sitting in one of the hospital waiting room chairs. Claire turned away from the hospital doors, and quietly made her way over to the woman.

_She's sleeping!_ Claire noted in slight surprise, as she looked down at the woman who had her head bowed down in slumber, and her arms crossed almost protectively over her chest.

_She waited...,_ Claire thought wonderingly to herself, as she continued to look down at the woman sleeping in the uncomfortable chair. Then letting out a soft sigh Claire reached down, and gently shook the woman's shoulder. Beautiful azure-blue eyes made themselves sleepily known to Claire, and she had to fight to catch her breath, when those captivating blue eyes looked up and locked with hers.

A soft, lazy smile pulled up the corners of the woman's lips, and Claire lost the battle with her struggling breath, and forced herself to breath deeply to replace the oxygen that had happily fled her lungs at the woman's smile.

"How's your sister doing? Is she going to be alright? I didn't feel...right...leaving before I found out if she was going to be okay," Alice said softly as she nervously licked her lips, and slowly rose to her feet before the green eyed woman, who was causing her breath to do all kinds of weird things to her...like flutter wildly between her lungs.

Claire studied the other woman now standing before her for a quiet moment, and noted that she was only a couple inches taller than she was. Claire also noted that there were deep, dark shadows around the woman's eyes that indicated more than a few nights of restless sleep. The short nap in the uncomfortable hospital chair, was probably the first bit of rest the woman had gotten in a while.

A sudden urge gripped Claire, and before her brain could put the brakes on the crazy idea her heart suddenly thrust upon her, Claire opened her mouth to speak.

"My sister is okay. Luckily for her she just sprained her ankle. _Unluckily_ for her, she's going to be housebound for weeks both so she can rest her ankle, and also as a punishment for once again _not_ listening to her big sister when told not to do something," Claire said with a small, exasperated smile and shake of her head at her sisters wild antics. Claire fought the small thrill that zipped through her when the blue-eyed woman before her gave a soft, throaty chuckle in reply. Claire then took in and released a deep breath, as she prepared herself to ask the question her heart had put forth, and her brain was fighting fiercely against.

"So, do you...have somewhere to stay for the night? It's getting pretty late, and you've waited so long just to hear news of my sister. I rent out a small spare room at my place every now and then, to help supplement my income. And you know...if you need somewhere to stay and don't have one right now, as I believe the one motel we have in town is temporarily closed for renovations, and I'm sure you don't want to sleep on your bike, and..." Claire's ramble was cut off as the woman hesitantly reached forward, and gently took one of Claire's warm hands into her own.

"No...I don't have anywhere to stay for the night. And I'd really rather not try sleeping on my bike tonight if the motel is closed. So...if it wouldn't be too much trouble, and wouldn't be too...awkward...to have the person who accidentally hit your sister, stay in your spare room for just this night...then yes, please...I would like to rent it," Alice answered softly, as she lightly let go of Claire's hand and stepped back a bit...almost instantly missing the warmth of that brief touch.

Claire's throat had gone dry when the woman had gently taken her hand into her own, and she now felt an unexpected and bewildering sense of loss when the woman let go of her hand, and lightly stepped back as if to put a bit of distance between them. Claire let out a soft, deep breath and then flashed the woman a smile so dazzling as she held out her hand for a shake, that Alice felt breathless and a bit dizzy as she stretched out her hand once again to return the handshake.

"Alright, then it's settled. You can rent the spare room and stay the night. And my name is Claire, by the way. Claire Redfield. Can I get your name?" Claire asked with a soft, mischievous grin tugging up the corners of her lips.

Alice nodded her head as she silently tasted Claire's name on her lips, and then softly replied.

"Alice. My name is Alice Abernathy. It's a pleasure to meet you...Claire Redfield."

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**AN** - Hope you all enjoyed! Please review, and let me know if you'd like to read more~ ^.^


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